A senior police officer has voiced concerns that the closure of Harrogate’s mental health assessment suite is putting an added strain on emergency services.

North Yorkshire Police chief inspector Alex Langley said people who are detained under the Mental Health Act have been taken as far as Scarborough or Darlington after the closure of the section 136 suite at Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Wing in May 2020.

It has meant police officers have been out of action for several hours as they drive detainees around the county.

Speaking at a recent Harrogate Borough Council meeting, Chf Insp Langley described the scale of the mental health crisis and impact on officers as “phenomenal”. He said.

“We don’t have a section 136 suite in Harrogate any more so if we detain somebody under the mental health act we could end up in Darlington or Scarborough, and that is a real challenge for us.

“They have to go in an ambulance and it takes multiple officers and a significant amount of time.”

He added:

“I would love for my officers to not have to go to any mental health incidents and actually send a mental health professional with better training and competence than we have.

“But in reality with the cuts, if we get a call from somebody who is in crisis and we are the last barrier then we have to go.”

Read more:

• Harrogate families describe anguish of mental health problems and impact of Briary Unit closure
• How did we get here? The closure of Harrogate’s Briary Unit is a story of political debate and debt

Mental health services in the Harrogate district are provided by the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust, which said it has an assessment suite in Haxby, north of York.

It added its staff work closely with North Yorkshire Police and that new ways of working have seen a reduction in detentions under the mental health act.

Impact on police times

Zoe Campbell, managing director of the trust’s North Yorkshire, York and Selby care group, said:

“For many people, receiving care and treatment in their own home can have the best outcome.

“We aim to provide crisis support and mental health assessments in a person’s home or as close to home as we can.

“Where this is not possible, we provide alternative places of safety for an assessment to take place. This way of working has seen a reduction in the number of people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act.”

The lack of custody cells for all types of arrests was recently raised as a concern by county councillors who said they were worried over a wider impact on police response times.

Members of North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel have asked commissioner Zoe Metcalfe to provide a report into the impact of officers in the north of the county having to take detainees to Harrogate and Scarborough following the closure of cells in Richmond and Northallerton.

Panel member Martin Walker, a former judge, told commissioner Metcalfe he had received various reports that police were “not arresting people that perhaps they should” because of the added travel time. He said:

“I can’t see there is any other reason for doing it than saving money.”

A mental health crisis team needs to return to Harrogate “at the earliest possible opportunity”, according to health bosses.

Harrogate District Hospital’s Briary Wing, which offered specialist inpatient care for people suffering with mental health problems, closed in April.

Inpatient mental health services transferred to York.

The adult and children crisis teams, which support people with mental health problems who may otherwise need to go to hospital and includes 29 staff, relocated to Ripon after officials were unable to identify alternative accommodation in Harrogate.

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health services for the Harrogate district, has conceded the move out of town “cannot be sustained in the long term”.

The quote is contained in a report due before North Yorkshire County Council’s health scrutiny panel this week.

The report also says the trust “fully acknowledged” that the service should be moved back to Harrogate “at the earliest possible opportunity”.

Read more:

• Harrogate mental health unit closes amid fears of increased demand due to coronavirus
• Harrogate families describe anguish of mental health problems and impact of Briary Unit closure

About 300 people a month use the crisis team for advice, support and assessment.

Naomi Lonergan, TEWV director of operations for North Yorkshire and York told the Stray Ferret: 

“A lot of work was carried out to find new accommodation for the crisis teams in Harrogate. Unfortunately at the time there weren’t suitable premises that could accommodate both teams and allow them to work together in providing interventions.

“As a short term solution we transferred the team to a suitable space at our existing trust premises at The Orchards, Ripon. However work is underway to identify potential sites and explore all possible solutions to accommodate crisis teams to enable them to deliver a service across Harrogate and rural district.

“Whilst the team base is in Ripon, our priority is always to maintain face-to-face contact and see people who need crisis interventions in their homes or as close to home as possible. Most people accessing our crisis services continue to be seen in the Harrogate area.

“We have identified rooms in the Harrogate community bases to enable face-to-face contact, as well as using increased community investment in team members to enable more home visits where needed. Where clinically appropriate we are also offering attend anywhere virtual consultations too.”

North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which buys medical services for the county, said the transfer of inpatient beds “released £500,000”, which could be invested in community mental health services.

Have you been affected by this change in mental health services? Get in touch at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

The Briary Unit at Harrogate District Hospital has this week closed its doors for the final time as inpatient mental health services transfer to York. 

The hospital wing, which offered specialist inpatient care for people suffering with mental health problems, is now sitting empty, as services are provided in the newly-built Foss Park Hospital on the north side of the city. 

A spokesman for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which is not responsible for mental health provision, said it was now considering how best to use the space.

Naomi Lonergan, director of operations for North Yorkshire and York at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust which runs mental health services for the Harrogate district, said: 

“Over the last few weeks our services have been transferring from the Briary Wing at Harrogate District Hospital as planned in phased approach. All services will have vacated by the end of this week and we have been working with services users, carers and partners to keep them updated on these changes.” 

The Briary Wing is now unoccupied

Alongside TEWV, the decision to close the Briary Unit last year was made by Harrogate and Rural District Clinical Commissioning Group (HaRD CCG), which has since been merged with two others to form North Yorkshire CCG. 

A spokesman for the new CCG said:

“Relocating the inpatient beds for Harrogate patients to York has released £500k which we are investing to expand and improve community mental health services which includes crisis. This is in line with one of our key principles which is to keep and treat people at home. The mental health transformation project is expected to reduce admissions, and when people do need to be admitted to reduce their length of stay.  

“We are conscious of the impact on families and carers and this was picked up as part of the engagement exercise. TEWV and the CCG are looking at volunteer drivers to help but also recognise that this is a difficult time.” 

Growing demand

With the full impact of the coronavirus crisis on mental health still to become clear, concerns have been raised that the new arrangements will not meet growing demand over the coming months. 

Cllr Geoff Webber, pictured left, who represents Bilton and Nidd Gorge on North Yorkshire County Council, last year criticised the decision to close the Briary Unit, saying the district’s residents had “been screwed” by TEWV and HaRD CCG, which made the decision. 

This week he said: “My concern remains that when there is pressure on the facility in York – as I’m sure there will be with the fall out from the pandemic – then Harrogate patients will be come second in the queue and possibly referred to Middlesborough or even further away. Community-based services will be unable to cope in the current situation.” 

The CCG spokesman said their modelling suggested the 72 beds in York would be sufficient, especially with an increase in community-based services, but there was always the possibility that patients would have to be treated further afield. Meanwhile, services have been adapted during the coronavirus crisis.

Ms Lonergan said: 

“We continue to deliver our services. We have introduced phone and video contacts for community appointments, where it is appropriate, and this has worked well. During this time we are also trying to maintain a level of contact with all patients, supplemented by more frequent contact by volunteers or other staff where appropriate. In the community, where it is identified that people do require face-to-face support, Trust staff can still visit people at home and they are taking the necessary precautions when doing this.”  

She added that the crisis service, offering 24-hour support, was continuing to operate and directed people to the website for more information.

Read more: From building a new hospital to moving all services to York – how did we get here?

Are you or a family member affected by this story and want to share your concerns? Please get in touch  – contact@thestrayferret.co.uk